Deputy Prime Minister Speech and Tax

Asked whether the Prime Minister agreed that measures to increase the Income Tax Personal Allowance should be made faster, the Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) said tax decisions were a matter for the Budget, but that the Coalition Agreement set out the tax priorities of the Government, in particular the priority to increase the Personal Allowance over other tax cuts.

Asked whether the Prime Minister welcomed discussion of tax policy, the PMS said the Deputy Prime Minister was setting out his policy priorities and that increasing the Personal Allowance was a Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment, and a a commitment in the Coalition Agreement. He said there was a process for taking decisions on tax as part of a Budget and there would be discussions, including the Deputy Prime Minister at that time.

Asked if the Prime Minister and Chancellor had seen the speech before delivery, the PMS said they had seen it.

Asked if the Deputy Prime Minister was calling for the Personal Allowance to be greater than 10,000, the PMS referred the lobby to the text of the speech.

Asked if the proposal on the Personal Allowance could be characterised as an economic stimulus measure, the PMS said the Deputy Prime Minister was not proposing a change in the fiscal stance and referred the lobby to HM Treasury for further technical information.